Doors of the ‘Pfaffenboden’ restaurant mostly closed for hikers

The Walchwil Corporation's Pfaffenboden restaurant is now only open in the evening - including at weekends. The corporation hopes that it will soon be possible to eat lunch on the Walchwilerberg again, and has opened a dialogue with the tenants.

Anyone making a spontaneous trip to the Walchwilerberg and planning to stop off at ‘Pfaffenboden’ restaurant for lunch will currently find themselves standing in front of a closed door.

The mountain restaurant belongs to the Walchwil Corporation, and was taken over by the new tenants Clara Cortés and Luca Zarelli and their friend Simeon Rückert at the end of April, as reported at the time by the Zuger Zeitung newspaper. The three offer regional and seasonal food, with classics such as ‘pasta with Bolognese’ and more unusual dishes such as ‘spicy fried chicken’ on the menu.

Short opening hours meet with incomprehension
For a few weeks now, the restaurant has only opened in the afternoon from 4 pm, and a number of people find this difficult to understand. On the online portal Punkt-Walchwil, Guido Pirovino and Kurt Hildbrand published an article asking ‘Is a new high-end restaurant opening on the Walchwilerberg?’ In it, the two lamented the late opening hours and high prices. They concluded: ‘They obviously no longer want to welcome normal citizens as guests at the “Pfaffenboden”.’ They received support in the letters to the editor. ‘As Walchwil residents, we don’t understand why a restaurant that belongs to the citizens is being managed in this way,’ writes Franz Hürlimann, for example.

The tenant couple Clara Cortés Zarabozo and Luca Zarrelli. Simeon Rückert (right) produce chocolate in the restaurant
The Restaurant Pfaffenboden is currently only open from 4 pm to 10 pm from Friday to Tuesday
 Photos: Stefan Kaiser
 

The owner, the Walchwil Corporation, is also not exactly happy with the opening hours, as Corporation President André Rust explained. The ‘Pfaffenboden’ is actually a popular excursion destination. ‘It's such a beautiful location in the local recreation area that you can drive straight to. That's why we would be very happy if the ‘Pfaffenboden’ was at least open over lunchtime at the weekend.’

However, despite the short opening hours, André Rust reiterated his support for the tenants several times during the interview: ‘We are behind the young couple and their innovative ideas.’

Staff shortage makes operation difficult
André Rust explained that different interests always come together in a restaurant: those of the landlords, the guests and the landlords. With regard to opening hours, nothing had been agreed in the contract between the tenant and the corporation: ‘The tenant couple should set the opening hours themselves so that they can operate economically.’ There were initially longer opening hours, but these have now been reduced due to the staff situation - employees could no longer cope with the very high workload with long working hours at the beginning. And André Rust understands this. ‘The strong fluctuations in guest numbers depending on the weather are also a challenge.’ A solution must now be found.

To this end, the corporation is currently in dialogue with the leaseholder couple, and an initial discussion has already taken place. Clara Cortés and Luca Zarelli from the ‘Pfaffenboden’ are now in the process of working out solutions. Due to time constraints, the landlord couple were unable to respond to an enquiry from the Zuger Zeitung newspaper regarding the criticism of the opening hours and possible solutions by the editorial deadline.

The food is apparently impressive
While the reviews from guests who stood in front of closed doors are all negative, those who stopped by the inn at the right time seem to be satisfied. The reviews praise the delicious food, the friendly service and the chocolate that is made on site. Guests also don't seem to be bothered by the slightly higher prices, describing them as ‘fair and reasonable’.